Prefabricated exterior wall unit

ABSTRACT

A prefabricated exterior wall unit for use in constructing a multi-story building. The wall units are approximately one story high, are erected side-by-side and are stacked either in vertical alignment or offset. Each wall unit has an exterior panel, flanges extending inwardly from the panel side and bottom edges, and a horizontal top support member at the top of and extending inwardly from the exterior panel. The top support member has formed therein an air or water duct for communication with remotely located heating or cooling equipment. The wall unit is adapted to be enclosed with an interior door to house room heating and cooling units and to provide a storage area.

United States Patent [191 Gwilliam et al.

Inventors: Willard E. Gwilliam, Plymouth;

Carl S. Buchman, Sharon, both of Mass.; Robert Hall, West Haven,

I Conn.

[73] Assignee: Universal Prestressed Concrete Co.,

Inc., Plymouth, Mass. 22] Filed: Jan. 18, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 107,331

[52] US. Cl. ..52/221, 52/79, 52/236 [51] Int. Cl. ..E04b 2/66 [58] Field of Search ..52/29, 220, 221, 52/236 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,577,672 5/1971 Nutting ..46/24 2,544,833 3/1951 2,064,789 12/1936 1,254,109 1/1918 3,732,650 May 15, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Buildings in Poland, Oct. 1957, p. 550, 551

Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott Assistant ExaminerLeslie A. Braun Attorney-Cliittick, Pfund, Birch, Samuels and Gauthier 57] ABSTRACT A prefabricated exterior wall unit for use in constructing a multi-story building. The wall units are approximately one story high, are erected side-by-side and are stacked either in vertical alignment or offset. Each wall unit has an exterior panel, flanges extending inwardly from the panel side and bottom edges, and a horizontal top support member at the top of and extending inwardly from the exterior panel. The top support member has formed therein an air or water duct for communication with remotely located heating or cooling equipment. The wall unit is adapted to be enclosed with an interior door to house room heating and cooling units and to provide a storage area.

10 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PAI MAY] 5 I973 SHEET 1 [IF 7 PATENTED'HAY 1 SIS-13 3. 732 650 SHEET u m 7 1 PREFABRICATED EXTERIOR WALL UNIT BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the construction of prefabricated multi-story buildings. Specifically, it relates to the provision of precast concrete wall units which are designed to be placed side-by-side and stacked vertically in order to erect the exterior walls of the building.

The wall units are shaped to accommodate windows therebetween, to support balconies, and have inwardly extending flanges'which form closet-like storage cubicles which can house equipment such as heating and cooling cabinets and the like. The wall units also have air or water ducts and vents running through them to supply the heating and cooling equipment mounted within the box-like wall units and to supply floor registers.

The wall units have massive top, support members which vary in length relative to the bottom and side flanges. The top support member may be equal in length to the bottom flange and no wider than the side flanges. Alternatively, it may extend beyond either or both side flanges.

The wall units carry the building floor and roof spans and are the primary load supporting members of the structure. They are one piece cast units, can be reinforced, and can be painted or textured. They permit design flexibility for buildings of varying sizes, shapes and uses and permit a variety of room sizes with stock dimensioned components.

The use of this wall unit in a prefabricated multi-story building provides long life, reduced maintenance costs, decreased construction time and single source responsibility for the entire construction process with resulting financial savings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the wall unit of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a load bearing corridor wall;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a horizontal base support beam member;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reinforced concrete exterior perimeter footing and a reinforced concrete interior load bearing wall footing;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the horizontal base support beam member of FIG. 3 set onto the exterior perimeter footing of FIG. 4, and also shows a low interior load bearing wall set onto the interior load bearing wall footing of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the precast concrete flooring set onto and spanning the horizontal base support member and the low interior load bearing wall of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pair of wall units set onto the horizontal base support member, and a corridor wall set onto the flooring over the low interior wall;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the precast concrete flooring set onto and spanning the wall units and the corridor wall of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the structure of FIG. 8 in which another pair of wall units is stacked on top of the first pair, windows are added, a heating and cooling unit is installed within the wall unit on the first floor, and a folding door encloses the interior of the wall unit;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the structure of FIG. 9 in which a prefabricated bathroom, kitchen counter units, partitions, doors and hardware have been installed and carpeting has been laid;

FIG. 11 is an elevational view, in section, taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of the wall unit of FIG. 1, in modified form, showing the top support member having a horizontal length equal to the horizontal length of the wall bottom flange;

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of the wall unit of FIG. 1 showing the top support member having a horizontal length greater than that of the wall unit bottom flange, the greater length extending an equal distance beyond both ends of the bottom flange; and

FIG. 14 is a front elevational view of the wall unit of FIG. 1, in modified form, showing the top support member having a horizontal length greater than that of the wall unit bottom flange, the greater length extending an unequal distance beyond both ends of the bottom flange.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention shall be described by specific reference to the drawings in which each important structural component is clearly shown and in which the steps of construction are sequentially depicted.

FIG. 1 shows the key component of this invention in one of its several configurations. Wall unit 10 is made of precast concrete and has a vertical rectangular exterior wall panel 12 which has one side facing the exterior of the building and one side facing the interior of the building. Exterior panel 12 optionally has an air vent 14 cut therein which can be utilized by heating and cooling equipment for intake and exhaust purposes.

Wall unit 10 has a pair of vertical spaced-apart rectangular side flanges 16 and 18 which are cast integral with and extend inwardly from the side edges of exterior panel 12. Flanges 16 and 18 are substantial structural members of the wall unit and are designed to provide the primary vertical support at the perimeter of the building. Each side flange has a slight recess 20 formed in its vertical exterior edge to accommodate a window installed between two adjacent wall units.

Preferably, a horizontal, substantially rectangular bottom flange 22 is cast integral with and extends inwardly from the bottom edge of exterior panel 12. Bottom flange 22 is joined to the lower edges of side flanges 16 and 18 and the facing or interior surfaces of these three flange elements slightly diverge in the building interior direction to facilitate the removal of the mold during the concrete casting process. The bottom flange 22 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a slot 24 for heating and cooling media flow purposes. It will be understood that slot 24 could have various configurations or could be omitted altogether depending upon the type of heating and cooling system employed.

Wall unit 10 has a horizontal top support member 26 cast integral with and protruding interiorly from the top edge of exterior wall panel 12. The support member 26 is massive, is substantially square when viewed in vertical cross-section (as shown in FIG. 11) and has a temperature control media duct 28 formed within its inte rior.

Top support member 26 has an exterior face 30, an interior face 32, an upper face 34 and a lower face 36. Preferably, grooves or recesses are formed along three of the four face edge junctions. Recess grooves 38 and 40 are formed in and run along the exterior face 30 of the top support member where it joins the upper face 34 and lower face 36, respectively. The purpose of these grooves is to provide a peripheral seat for the installation of windows (or solid filler panels) between side-by-side top support members, as shown in FIG. 9. Obviously, it is not necessary for upper groove 38 to extend centrally of the side flanges 16 and 18 for window support purposes. However, it may be preferable for groove 38 to extend all the way across top support member 26 for aesthetic or other reasons. Recess groove 42 is formed in and runs along the top edge of interior face 32 of the top support member. The purpose of groove 42 is to provide a supporting edge for the concrete flooring spans, as shown in FIG. 8.

Preferably, as is best shown in FIG. 11, the interior face 32 of the top support member and the interior edges of the side and bottom flanges are disposed in a single vertical plane. The same is true with regard to the exterior face 30 and the exterior edges of the side and bottom flanges. Also, the lower face 32 is slightly angled, as shown in FIG. 11, to facilitate the removal of the concrete mold.

Top support member 26 has a duct 28 running along its entire horizontal length. This duct is preferably circular in cross-section although it could be most any cross-sectional shape. The duct is also insulated by a cylinder 44 of fiberglass or the like. It will be seen that the joinder of two top support members side-by-side will produce horizontal alignment of the duct openings. Thus, each floor of the building will have a single horizontal duct running around the entire floor perimeter and each duct will carry heating or cooling temperature control media such as water, air or steam. The ducts can also be plugged at any point where desired.

A slot 46 is provided in upper face 34 of the top support member in vertical alignment with bottom flange slot 24. Thus, when the wall units are stacked, slot 24 rests upon and is aligned with slot 46 so that media within duct 28 can be fed into or removed from a console unit installed within the wall unit immediately above slot 24 on bottom flange 22. Also, an opening 48 is formed in upper face 34 of the top support member at a location outboard of side flange 16. The purpose of opening 48 is to vent heated or cooled air directly from duct 28 to the interior of the room or living area through a floor or ceiling register. It will be understood that the presence, shape and/or location of these slots and openings is entirely optional and subject to custom design depending upon the type of heating and cooling system used and the requirements of the living areas affected thereby. Specifically, there may be any number of openings 48 and they may be located on the interior face 32, the upper face 34 and/or the lower face 36 of top support member 26. Top support member 26 is substantially square when viewed in vertical crosssection taken through the plane of side flange 16. Substantially square" is intended to define a rectangle which has approximately parallel opposite sides, may or may not have notched comers, and has sides that are approximately the same length although one side may be as much as 50 percent shorter than an adjoining side. The purpose of this substantially square configuration is to accommodate the temperature control media duct within its interior.

The basic building unit of this invention has now been described. The remainder of the building system can best be described with reference to the sequence of drawings. FIG. 3 shows a horizontal base support beam member 50. Base support member 50 is identical to top support member 26 except that its lower face 52 is entirely flat and the side and bottom flanges and the exterior wall panel of the top support member are omitted. As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the building is begun by pouring a reinforced concrete perimeter footing 54 around the periphery of the excavation. Upon footing 54, base support members 50 are laid end-toend and welded, bolted or otherwise anchored in place. At the same time, a reinforced concrete interior. load bearing wall footing 56 is poured within the perimeter footings wherever the layout specifies. Then, load bearing crawl space walls 58 are positioned end-to-end on footing 56, supported and cemented in place.

FIG. 6 shows the placing of the flooring spans 60 between the inner groove 62 of base support members 50 and the upper edge 64 of crawl space wall 58. Flooring spans 60 are preferably hollow cored prestressed concrete extruded slabs which are plant manufactured and which are grouted into place. Crawl space is provided as shown in FIG. 6. The spans 60 are adapted to carry the electrical wiring and other distribution conduits within their hollow cores.

The wall units 10 are erected side-by-side on base support members 50 as shown in FIG. 7. The bottom flange 22 slightly overlaps flooring span 60 and sandwiches it between the underlying top support member 26 with its floor recess groove 42. The top support members 26 are anchored end-to-end and, if desired, the ducts 28 are connected. The slot 66 and the opening 68 in the upper face of base support member 50 are in alignment with bottom flange slot 24 and the floor area beneath the window opening. Also, interior corridor wall 70 is erected on the floor above crawl space wall 58 and wall footing 56.

At this point in the construction sequence, the kitchen cabinets, the bath unit components, the carpet and the accessories are lifted into the living area.

FIG. 8 shows the setting of the flooring spans 60 for the second story of the building. This is a repeat of the setting of the flooring spans for the first story.

FIG. 9 shows the erection of two more wall units 10 to form the exterior walls of the second story of the building. This is a repeat of the erection of the wall units for the first story. FIG. 9 also shows the placement of a heating and air conditioning console unit 72 within the cubicle on the first floor. The cubicle is formed by the side flanges l6 and 18, the bottom flange 22 and the lower face 36 of top support member 26. A folding door 74 is provided to enclose the wall unit storage cubicle. Alternative closure means include sliding doors, accordion doors and fabric screens, etc. The cubicle can be utilized for a wide variety of storage purposes.

It will be understood that the consoles 72 can either be independent units which employ the top support member duct 28 for air circulation or can be satellite units employing the duct 28 for communication with remotely located heating and/or cooling equipment. For example, an independent installation could employ electric forced hot air heat with the fresh air inlet path being through exterior wall panel vent l4 and the hot air distribution being through slot 24 into duct 28 to floor registers over openings 68 beneath the windows.

Air conditioning could also employ an independent electric unit exhausting hot air through vent 14 and utilizing a compressor, fresh air inlet vent l4 and a fan to blow cooled air through slot 24 into duct 28 to floor registers over openings 68 beneath the windows.

Alternative systems include remotely located equipment for heating and chilling water. The remote equipment then either blows the resulting heated or chilled air directly through ducts 28 to the registers, or pipes the heated or chilled water to the console units which then blow air over the pipes into ducts 23 to the registers. Obviously, many modifications are possible to suit the building requirements and individual thermostats provided regardless of the system employed.

FIG. 9 also shows the installation of pre-glazed windows 76 in the openings formed between the side-byside wall units 10 and the underlying wall units or base support members 50. As previously mentioned, the adjacent wall units and the underlying wall units or base support members all have window recess grooves adapted to receive, seat and support the window frames. Obviously, the windows could be fixed, sliding or take the form of sliding glass doors leading to balconies which are easily hinged to the exterior surface of the wall units.

FIG. 10 shows the finishing of the first story living area. A self-contained bath room unit 78 is installed, wired and plumbed into place. Bath room unit 78 includes fiberglass walls, all tub, toilet and sink fixtures, lights, exhaust fan, medicine cabinet, hardware and flooring. Preferably, it is factory assembled and lifted into place by crane.

The kitchen wall cabinets 80 and floor counter cabinets 82 are also factory assembled and lifted into place for installation and, where needed, wired and plumbed in. Also, vinyl covered gypsum board partitions 84, wooden doors 86 and hardware are installed and carpeting 88 is laid. This finishing process is repeated for each story of the building. Variations in window spacing, balcony spacing and building configuration generally are provided by, among other things, the casting of wall unit 110 in various configurations. Three such configurations are shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 wherein the horizontal dimension of the top support member is equal to that of the bottom flange 22 (FIG. 12); is greater than that of bottom flange 22 by equal amounts at each end (FIG. 13); and is greater than that of bottom flange 22 by unequal amounts at each end (FIG. M).

The building system of this invention can be used to build apartments, town houses, motels, dormitories, homes, nursing homes, schools, offlce buildings, stores and public buildings. The system integrates the structural elements of the building, its exterior skin, its interior partitions, and its heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electricals. It provides flexible room and apartment sizes with stock dimensioned components and provides design flexibility for buildings of varying shapes, sizes and use characteristics.

The building system is primarily intended for up to stories and can be modified for greater heights. It is very pleasing to the eye and is adapted to employ a variety of concrete surface textures such as exposed aggregate, sand blasted, wood form, striated and patterned. In conclusion, the building system of this invention is based on the unique wall unit 10 which is the primary building block that makes possible the construction and cost advantages of the building system while also contributing to the designs flexibility and aesthetic qualities.

The above description obviously suggests many possible variations and modifications of this invention which would not depart from its spirit and scope. It should be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of structure specifically described or illustrated and that within the scope of the appended claims, it may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described or illustrated.

We claim:

1. A prefabricated exterior wall unit for use in erecting a multi-story building wherein a plurality of said wall units are positioned and joined together in a sideby-side and stacked arrangement, the height of said wall unit being substantially equal to the height of a story of the building, each said wall unit comprising:

a. a vertical, substantially rectangular exterior wall panel;

b. a pair of vertical, substantially parallel, spacedapart, substantially rectangular side flanges joined to and protruding inwardly from the side edges of said wall panel;

c. a horizontal top support member joined to and protruding inwardly from the top edge of said wall panel substantially the same distance as said side flanges, said support member being substantially square when viewed in vertical cross-section taken through the plane of a side flange, and said support member having a temperature control media duct formed within its interior for communication with remote heating and cooling equipment, said support member further having a horizontal groove running along its upper interior edge adapted to provide support for the flooring;

d. a horizontal substantially rectangular bottom flange joined to and protruding inwardly from the bottom edge of said wall panel substantially the same distance as said side flanges; and

e. said exterior wall panel, said side flanges, said top support member and said bottom flange all joined together at their adjacent edges to form a five-sided box approximately one story high opening inwardly, said box adapted to being selectively closed by door means.

2. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein the entire unit is made of precast concrete.

3. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein the duct formed in the interior of said top support member runs the entire horizontal length of said member and is open at each end of said member for side-to-side registration with adjacent wall unit ducts.

Al. The wall unit of claim 3 wherein said duct is insulated throughout its length.

5. The wall unit of claim 3 wherein said top support member has a substantially vertical conduit formed therein open at the upper surface of said top support member and communicating with the duct, and said bottom flange has a substantially vertical conduit formed therethrough, said two conduits being located in substantially vertical alignment so that they are adapted to register when the wall units are stacked.

6. The wall'unit of claim 5 wherein said exterior wall panel has an air vent formed therethrough in near proximity to said bottom flange substantially vertical conduit whereby a heating or cooling unit is adapted to be 9. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein said top support member has a horizontal length greater than that of said bottom flange, the greater length extending an equal distance beyond both ends of said bottom flange.

10. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein said top support member has a horizontal length greater than that of said bottom flange, the greater length extending unequal distances beyond both ends of said bottom flange. 

1. A prefabricated exterior wall unit for use in erecting a multi-story building wherein a plurality of said wall units are positioned and joined together in a side-by-side and stacked arrangement, the height of said wall unit being substantially equal to the height of a story of the building, each said wall unit comprising: a. a vertical, substantially rectangular exterior wall panel; b. a pair of vertical, substantially parallel, spaced-apart, substantially rectangular side flanges joined to and protruding inwardly from the side edges of said wall panel; c. a horizontal top support member joined to and protruding inwardly from the top edge of said wall panel substantially the same distance as said side flanges, said support member being substantially square when viewed in vertical cross-section taken through the plane of a side flange, and said support member having a temperature control media duct formed within its interior for communication with remote heating and cooling equipment, said support member further having a horizontal groove running along its upper interior edge adapted to provide support for the flooring; d. a horizontal substantially rectangular bottom flange joined to and protruding inwardly from the bottom edge of said wall panel substantially the same distance as said side flanges; and e. said exterior wall panel, said side flanges, said top support member and said bottom flange all joined together at their adjacent edges to form a five-sided box approximately one story high opening inwardly, said box adapted to being selectively closed by door means.
 2. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein the entire unit is made of precast concrete.
 3. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein the duct formed in the interior of said top support member runs the entire horizontal length of said member and is open at each end of said member for side-to-side registration with adjacent wall unit ducts.
 4. The wall unit of claim 3 wherein said duct is insulated throughout its length.
 5. The wall unit of claim 3 wherein said top support member has a substantially vertical conduit formed therein open at the upper surface of said top support member and communicating with the duct, and said bottom flange has a substantially vertical conduit formed therethrough, said two conduits being located in substantially vertical alignment so that they are adapted to register when the wall units are stacked.
 6. The wall unit of claim 5 wherein said exterior wall panel has an air vent formed therethrough in near proximity to said bottom flange substantially vertical conduit whereby a heating or cooling unit is adapted to be mounted on said bottom flange over said bottom flange substantially vertical conduit and adjacent to said air vent.
 7. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein said side flanges have window recess grooves in their vertical exterior edges and said top support member has window recess grooves running along at least a portion of its upper exterior edge and its lower exterior edge.
 8. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein said top support member has a horizontal length approximately equal to that of said bottom flange.
 9. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein said top support member has a horizontal length greater than that of said bottom flange, the greater length extending an equal distance beyond both ends of said bottom flange.
 10. The wall unit of claim 1 wherein said top support member has a horizontal length greater than that of said bottom flange, the greater length extending unequal distances beyond both ends of said bottom flange. 